Golf Ball Assessment

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My thread on "Preferred Golf Ball" got me energized to do an assessment of balls in my bag - which is a real potpourri. I'm going to categorize them for; compression, layer design, and type cover. Then, based on what an article I found suggests is the best match for my swing speed (90/multi-layered/balata cover), see how those perform on the course as compared to those not meeting those attributes.

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Ah balata balls...golf's one time disposable golf ball. Hit it once with some fresh wedge grooves? Scuffed cover. Hit it off the cart path? Scuffed cover. Hit it off the tree? Stained, scratched cover. Hit it a little thin? Cut cover.

Did some digging and found following brands that made a ball with the word balata on it: Titleist, Ultra, Strata, Top Flite, Ping, Ram Tour, Slazenger, Maxfli, Rawlings, Wilson Staff, Rextar/Bridgestone, Golden Ram, Palmer, Achusnet, Nitro, and Pro Staff.

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I still have a few balatas hanging around,but I know I'll lose/wreck them on my first swing, so I don't dare play them. I'm also pretty sure the cover deteriorates over time, so... Anybody know if if this is true?

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I still have a few balatas hanging around,but I know I'll lose/wreck them on my first swing, so I don't dare play them. I'm also pretty sure the cover deteriorates over time, so... Anybody know if if this is true?

I'm not 100% sure, but I have heard that before and I think it does bear some credibility.

Ah balata balls...golf's one time disposable golf ball. Hit it once with some fresh wedge grooves? Scuffed cover. Hit it off the cart path? Scuffed cover. Hit it off the tree? Stained, scratched cover. Hit it a little thin? Cut cover.

Did some digging and found following brands that made a ball with the word balata on it: Titleist, Ultra, Strata, Top Flite, Ping, Ram Tour, Slazenger, Maxfli, Rawlings, Wilson Staff, Rextar/Bridgestone, Golden Ram, Palmer, Achusnet, Nitro, and Pro Staff.

Balata covered rocks?

Still, if we play with balls found on the course, whoÂ´s to say they ain`t balata?

Found a "Strata balata" with MGS Big Stu a few weeks back. I did some research on it...urethane. It was back when urethane was becoming popular and some companies were making "balata like" covers.

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OK. finally got around to this while getting the bag and clubs all squared away for the trip to Yuma. I knew my bag was stuffed with too many balls, but was surprised to tally 68! Here was the breakdown:

Titleist ProV1; 7

Titleist ProV1x; 12

Titleist AVX; 2

Titleist NXT; 4

Bridgestone E6; 9

Callaway Chrome Soft; 11

Callaway Warbird; 3

Callaway Hex Soft; 2

TaylorMade Burner; 3

TaylorMade Lethal; 1

TaylorMade NXT; 2

Noodle Long & Soft; 4

Slazenger Raw Distance; 2

Wilson Tour Velocity; 1

Wilson Ultra; 1

Srixon Soft Feel; 2

Srixon Marathon; 1

Srixon Distance; 1

While playing last winter, one of the courses has a guy that sells used balls at great prices, so I picked up some extra Titleist, TM and Callaway. I'm pretty sure I only had a couple dozen to start, so the others were finds. Like I stated, I've always tended to play a smorgasbord of golf balls - giving little consideration to how they might help or hinder my game.

I'm using this link (chart) to categorize them as it sounds like 90 compression or less best matches my swing speed.

Next steps to my road to improvement
Current
Adding the Mizuno MMC FliHi 4 iron to the bag once it comes it to replace my hybrid. The hybrid has too significant of a draw bias, not terrible, but I also draw the ball naturally already, and will probably go in and out of the bag, but I'm looking for better shot shaping with the FliHi and have that 210 to 225 distance into the green and off of the tee.
Working on my putting. I'm rolling the ball nicely now with a slightly open stance with my current putter. I have another putter that I can get the ball rolling online, but the pace is off. Future step is to actually get fit for a putter.
Working on my natural tempo and swing speed for the driver to have more consistent drives. See below for more info.
Next
Driver shaft optimization. Not looking for a new head yet. I like my 2017 M1 460. Interested in the journey of testing some shafts. Right now my shaft is determining what kind of shot I can do. Slower speed and tempo than my natural speed and tempo. This has lead to a great deal of inconsistency of trying to find the "magic speed and tempo" and I know that isn't the way to go.
Swing speed training. I'll have multiple shafts at this point so I can game whatever is best fitting me as I go along. And I can always swing a little slower or club down to hit a fairway.
Future
Get fitted for a putter > get fitted for a driver/shaft and woods from a high level, reputable company willing to discuss numbers and takes the time and right approach. Open to custom shafts and not just from the OEM cart like at a Golf Galaxy. I have only been fitted to a driver once, but didn't purchase as I did not like the experience, small selection of shafts, and I wasn't swinging my natural speed and tempo like I should have.